Quote:
Originally Posted by Chan
Don't give me that crap! You make the assertion that rights do not exist outside our minds, you have the burden of proof that they don't exist outside our minds.
Let's use an analogy here: if a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it does it still make a sound? Your assertion is essentially that it doesn't and it's up to you to prove that it doesn't.
I will defer to John Locke:
John Locke: Second Treatise of Civil Government |
If a tree falls in a forest it doesn't make a sound. It can't make a sound. It's a tree. A tree is a plant. Plants don't make sounds. But when it falls a falling tree will develop kinetic energy. Some of that kinetic energy will be released as sound waves on the tree's impact with the ground. Those sound waves will exist independent of anything else. If there are no humans around to hear those sound waves it doesn't matter. They will still exist. If a human is close enough then they will hear those sound waves. But simply because those sound waves might not be heard at that time by a human doesn't mean those sound waves don't exist. They do. That's because the natural laws of the universe are at work.
But "rights" are a human invention and not part of the natural laws of the universe. "Rights" are only recognised by humans interacting with one another. There are no "rights" independent of humanity. "Rights" aren't even innate in humans, they had to be invented, not discovered. And through time and in various cultures, "rights" have been variously interpreted. That's just another clue that they're not part of the natural laws of the universe. If they were then they would be constant across time and space. Gravity is a natural law of the universe whereas the "right" to freedom of speech is not.